Plus, I’m pretty sure I look like a total goob when I run, which really doesn’t have anything to do with running, but still.

Anyway, I do love running. I get a weird sense of peace when pounding the pavement or treadmill. It’s just me and whatever I’m listening to on Pandora. (Currently, I’m listening to a Cake station, I think I’m subconsciously hoping that if I listen to Cake I won’t actually crave cake. So far, not working.)

This leads me to what this post is really about. That your limitations are really all in your head.

While at Fitcation last month, (a fitness vacation for mom,) we had the opportunity to listen an amazing speaker, Joshua Medcalf. Joshua specializes in performance psychology training. He helps sports teams, business men/women, actors/actresses, etc.
While listening to him he brought up an amazing point. He asked us about our internal dialogue; specifically he asked what we say to ourselves whenever we make a mistake. All of us piped up, vocalizing all of the negative things we say to ourselves from, “You idiot” to “What were you thinking.” Joshua asked us if we would hang out with someone who said those things to us. Unanimously we all said no way. Some of us threw in that we would throat punch the person.

“Then why do you talk to yourself that way?”

Whoa.

This has stuck with me since then and I’ve been much more cognizant of how I’m speaking to myself at all times. So for your reading pleasure. I give you the internal dialogue I have every time I run. (This could be proof that I have multiple personalities, but either way I’m pretty fun to be around.)

Starting out:
“This is awesome, I feel great!”1/4 mile in:
“I’m going to die, who thought this was a good idea???”
“Stop it, you’re doing GREAT! You’ll feel so much better at the end.”A bit of giddy up added due to pep talk.3/10ths of a mile in:
“I need to stop to walk. I think my arm is going numb from lack of oxygen.”
“No it isn’t. Go to a 1/2 mile, then you can walk for a bit, you’re strong, you can do it!”I press on, while dragging my arm behind me.1/2 mile in:
“I did it! I made it to a 1/2 mile, now to walk.”
“No! You made it this far PUSH! Another 1/4 of a mile, you can do it. No one can push you like you can push yourself!”Succumbing to my own peer pressure, I continue on.7/10ths of a mile in:
“I’m done! I can’t do this! My knee hurts! I think the treadmill is groaning from having to support my fat ass.”
“You’re not done. You have some left in the tank. Your knee may ‘hurt’ but you’re not in ‘pain’. PRESS ON! You’re running so your fat ass won’t be fat anymore. You’re almost there!”Sweat trickles from my armpit down my arm to my elbow as I pump harder.3/4 of a mile in:
“Okay 3/4 of a mile. Time to walk right??”
“Negative ghost rider, the pattern is full.”
“What are you talking about!?! You said I could walk when I got this far!! You know it’s not okay to lie to yourself, I’m pretty sure God frowns upon that.”
“You know, in the time it took you to talk to yourself just now, you have gone a 10th of a mile farther. Why stop??”
“Because I want to.” (said in the most pitifully whining voice known to man.)
“Your head may want to, but in your heart you know you can go farther.”
“Damn you and your inspirational talk!”9/10th of a mile in:
“Seriously! I’m done, can’t do this!”
“You are so close! A 10th of a mile is NOTHING.”
“I want to be done!!!”
“Okay, then run faster, you’ll be done that much quicker.”
“Are you fracking nuts?!?”
“No.”
“I’m pretty sure you are, I can’t feel my legs right now. I don’t even know how they are still moving. I’m pretty sure at any moment they are going to give out and I’m going to take a header on this treadmill in front of all these people and then I will forever be known as the fat girl who face planted on the treadmill and had to be taken to the hospital to have an emergency fat-ectomy.”
“Hey.”
“WHAT?!?”
“You just ran 1.1 miles. Time to cool down.”
“Really??….I FEEL AWESOME! Let’s go for another 1/4 of a mile!”THE END

This folks, is how you can accomplish anything no matter what your head may be telling you. When you change the dialogue that you have with yourself, you can start going farther than you ever thought possible before.

Comments

DYING Laughing because I thought I was the only one… ALSO – anytime you can use a Top Gun Reference, you get EXTRA kudos from me… mostly because now I’m thinking about the vollyball scene… val kilmer… extra baby oil… where was I? oh who cares…

Isn’t that true? That we are our worst critics. It’s insane the terrible things I tell myself. If someone told me, “I don’t believe you could do XYZ,” I would be angry, but I tell myself I can’t do it all the time.

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[…] my own business when a friend of mine, Tina – over at Mad Hatter Mom – posted her inner dialog when running. It was a great and OH SO Relateable post… at least for me… somewhere around 3/4 of a […]